Chapter Three- Encounters
Notes- I'm so glad you all like this! (Hands out plushies to everyone) ^^ I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as you all seemed to enjoy the first two!
~*~
Houjun held his hands over his face at first, thinking that he was being pulled right into the middle of the street where everyone was going to point and laugh at him. Or worse, they'd think he wanted to be a girl or something. Hikou would never let him live another day without reminding him about this.
However, when he didn't hear any gasps or laughs other than Kouran pulling him along and grunting, the blue-haired boy cautiously opened an eye.
He was being pulled along towards the river, which spilled into the nearby pond/lake that Hikou had mentioned earlier that morning. Right now, the river was lower than he remembered it being. Houjun wondered if the frog from earlier was still around somewhere.
Then he paled again. Oh, no. That's right, his friends were playing around here somewhere! Well, he could just explain Kouran made him... no! He was a boy, she was a girl. Boys were supposed to be stronger than girls... right?
So then why was he being pulled around in a dress?
Oh, right, because she'd cry and get him in trouble with his mother.
He sighed. No matter what, it seemed like he was doomed. He'd either lose playing rights or his dignity. Since dignity always came back after a day or so, he figured he could live without it for just a little while to keep this girl from getting him into trouble.
But of course, that didn't mean he had to talk to her or anything, did it?
Kouran finally stopped dragging him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Kaori-chan, you got your dress all dirty," she said mournfully. "How can we clean it?"
"What's wrong wit' dirt-" he stopped when he saw her glaring.
"Kaori-chan! You almost sound like a boy! I hate boys! So should you!" Kouran stuck her tongue out and made a ridiculous face.
Despite his resolve not to like her, he found himself giggling at the expression on her face.
Kouran grinned. "Now, Kaori-chan, what should we play today? Maybe we can play emperor an' empress an'... oh, I dunno."
"Ano..." Houjun brushed a little of the dirt off of the dress he was wearing, deciding to ignore that idea. Then he shivered when he felt another draft. "How can girls stand these things?" he asked, gesturing to the dress.
"'Cause we haveta," Kouran replied. She shrugged. "Mama says it makes us look prettier than boys, and it's easier to go around in than pants. Plus the pants squeeze guys with some place Mama says they always think with. That's why they're dumb."
"No they don't! And I'm not stupid!" he added.
"Anyway," she said, ignoring him. "Yeah, dresses are much easier to run in."
"They are, but it's weird," he complained.
"Too bad, get used to it."
"You are NOT gonna get me in a dress 'gain."
Kouran's eyes widened and shimmered with tears.
Houjun turned away. "... An' don't cry," he added as an afterthought.
"You're so MEAN!"
Something wet hit him in the back of the head.
"DA!"
Houjun turned around to see that Kouran had grabbed a handful of mud from near the river. His eyes widened in alarm, and his right hand trailed up to the back of his head, where he felt the cool river mud trickling down his neck into his clothes.
"Koooouuurraaaan," he yelled. "I'll get you for that!"
"Yer not allowed t' hit girls!" she shrieked, stepping back away from him just in case he went after her.
"Who said I hadta hit ya?" he asked, and dove for his own mud.
Kouran dove after him. "Don't you dare! I'll tell!"
"You started it!"
"Did not!"
"DID TOO!"
They continued to argue as they grabbed handful of mud after handful of mud, throwing them at each other. Most of the handfuls missed, landing harmlessly a little ways away. Finally, they gave up on throwing and started a wrestling match...
~*~
Hikou looked up from poking at the frog at the sound of shrieking. He had been there for the past hour or so, the last fifteen minutes by himself. His best friend Houjun hadn't come along because he was stuck with his mom going to meet the mean new girl, and the others had had to head home to get breakfast. Needless to say, since he hadn't so much as gotten warts yet, he was getting bored with the critter.
Another shriek sounded, and a yell from a voice that sounded familiar.
"Who...? A fight?!" he asked excitedly. He jumped to his feet, clenching his hands and unclenching them. "I'll bet they're girls by the voices! Ooh, wait'll I catch 'em and I'll get a cake or two from stoppin' 'em!" He nodded at this. "I am a genius," he declared.
With that in mind, he stuffed the frog into the front of his shirt (just to see if long physical contact would give him warts), then ran off towards the sounds of the voices.
~*~
Finally, Houjun and Kouran stopped their little fight and sat up to brush themselves off. Both were panting, exhausted from the fight, but Houjun was grinning and Kouran was trying to keep a pout off of her face, though she was on the verge of smiling herself.
The two sat there for a while, trying to get mud out of their hair and off of their clothes.
Then,
"Hey! Stop it, you two! Heeey- oh."
Houjun froze. Oh no... He risked a peek. Yep, he was doomed.
Hikou stood a little ways away from them, looking disappointed. "Aw, you already quit. I was hopin' you'd still be at it," he complained.
Kouran sniffed. "Please. Girls don't start fights, they finish 'em quickly though," she said.
Hikou gave her a cautious glare. "Yeah right. You should leave other girls alone," he added, glancing at Houjun. "I'll bet you did start this fight- eh?" He turned to get a better look at the other boy. His eyes widened. "HOUJUN?!" he yelled.
Houjun winced.
"That's not HOUJUN, that's Kaori-chan," Kouran said matter-of-factly. "Now if you don't mind, we're playin'. Go 'way."
"Houjun, you poor guy," Hikou said. He walked to his friend and knelt in front of him, peering at the blue-haired boy. "Yer SO lucky everyone else went home, or they'd make fun of ya sure."
Houjun blushed. "I know."
"How'd she make you?"
"She started crying," Houjun said awkwardly.
Hikou nodded, immediately taking on a wise look. "Ah."
"Hello?! Kaori-chan, he's a boy, don't talk to him! You, boy, go away!" Kouran yelled. The two continued to talk. "HEY! Don't ignore meeeee..." her eyes welled up with tears.
"Girls always cry. See, they're too weak to put up with what other people want," Hikou said pointedly, glancing over his shoulder. "They're mean an' ugly and... well, mean. And they talk too much. An' they're really, really mean."
"You already said that," Houjun pointed out.
"I know, but it's true."
"I know."
"YOU'RE ALL MEAN!" Kouran declared angrily. "AN' I DON'T EVER WANNA SEE YA AGAIN!" With that, she burst into tears, turned, and ran back towards her house without a backward glance at the two stunned boys.
There was a long silence as the boys watched her go. Then Hikou said, "Well, that actually went pretty well."
"Really?" Houjun asked.
"Yeah. Fer meeting a girl, anyways. Ne, Houjun, it's really weird seeing ya in a dress..."
"I know. They're so uncomfy and cold." Houjun glanced back towards Kouran's house. "And Kouran stole my clothes."
"Oh." Hikou frowned in thought. "Hmm... well, ya could just go back an'-"
"IIE! If I do Mama'll see me! Hikou-kun, get my clothes for me! Onegai?!" Houjun interrupted.
His friend gave him a somewhat dubious look. "I dunno about that, Houjun. I might get in trouble..."
"Onegai!? I'll help you steal Geran's honey cakes later!"
Hikou's eyes widened in surprise and delight- the honey cakes were his absolute favorite, and his greatest weakness. "Ya mean it, Houjun?" His friend nodded. "Aw, you're the best! Course I'll get yer stuff! Where is it?"
"In her room," Houjun replied. At Hikou's frown he added, "I'll help steal TWO cakes for ya." He held up two fingers to emphasize his point.
His friend nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
"ARIGATO HIKOU-KUN NO DA!" Houjun cried, hugging his friend.
"Eh, Houjun, get off! It's weird, ya huggin' me, and in a dress an' all..." Hikou stood up and turned towards Kouran's house. Then with a deep breath, he started running towards it at top speed.
Houjun watched him go, sighing. "Please, Kami, let him survive," he prayed. "I wanna get my clothes back, an' Hikou's my best friend an' all... onegai?" He looked up hopefully at the sky.
There was a long quiet, then Houjun heard a distant scream and startled shouts. Then, he saw his friend racing out of the house with a bundle of clothes in his arms. His eyes were wide with terror as he hurried towards Houjun.
"HOUJUN! TASUKETE, HOUJUN!" he howled. "She's gonna get me!"
The blue-haired boy ran up to him, taking his clothes from his friend. Then he yelped as he was grabbed by his arm and dragged behind a nearby tree.
Houjun hurriedly slipped into his clothes (sighing in relief when he got into his leggings again) as the two heard another scream, and what sounded like a wail. "What happened in there, Hikou?" he asked.
He turned just in time to catch his friend's evil smile. "Eh? Oh, I got your clothes and... remember that frog I told ya about?"
His friend nodded, wondering what the frog had to do with this.
"I had the frog with me, an' I sneaked up behind that Kouran girl an' then dropped it on her hair. She screamed and whirled around, an' then it fell down into her dress."
Houjun started to laugh. "Great job! I knew I could depend on you, Hikou-kun!"
The two shared grins for a moment.
Then Hikou said, "Wanna go get those cakes now?"
"Haaaaai!"
The two ran off, forgetting the dress and the fact that Houjun's mother was probably waiting for him to come back to the house and explain what happened.
~*~
Hehe. Revenge for Houjun! I wonder what'll happen? Will they get those cakes? Will Houjun's mother find them? What about Kouran? I hope you enjoyed that, I certainly had fun typing it. ^^ Later, everyone!
Notes- I'm so glad you all like this! (Hands out plushies to everyone) ^^ I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as you all seemed to enjoy the first two!
~*~
Houjun held his hands over his face at first, thinking that he was being pulled right into the middle of the street where everyone was going to point and laugh at him. Or worse, they'd think he wanted to be a girl or something. Hikou would never let him live another day without reminding him about this.
However, when he didn't hear any gasps or laughs other than Kouran pulling him along and grunting, the blue-haired boy cautiously opened an eye.
He was being pulled along towards the river, which spilled into the nearby pond/lake that Hikou had mentioned earlier that morning. Right now, the river was lower than he remembered it being. Houjun wondered if the frog from earlier was still around somewhere.
Then he paled again. Oh, no. That's right, his friends were playing around here somewhere! Well, he could just explain Kouran made him... no! He was a boy, she was a girl. Boys were supposed to be stronger than girls... right?
So then why was he being pulled around in a dress?
Oh, right, because she'd cry and get him in trouble with his mother.
He sighed. No matter what, it seemed like he was doomed. He'd either lose playing rights or his dignity. Since dignity always came back after a day or so, he figured he could live without it for just a little while to keep this girl from getting him into trouble.
But of course, that didn't mean he had to talk to her or anything, did it?
Kouran finally stopped dragging him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Kaori-chan, you got your dress all dirty," she said mournfully. "How can we clean it?"
"What's wrong wit' dirt-" he stopped when he saw her glaring.
"Kaori-chan! You almost sound like a boy! I hate boys! So should you!" Kouran stuck her tongue out and made a ridiculous face.
Despite his resolve not to like her, he found himself giggling at the expression on her face.
Kouran grinned. "Now, Kaori-chan, what should we play today? Maybe we can play emperor an' empress an'... oh, I dunno."
"Ano..." Houjun brushed a little of the dirt off of the dress he was wearing, deciding to ignore that idea. Then he shivered when he felt another draft. "How can girls stand these things?" he asked, gesturing to the dress.
"'Cause we haveta," Kouran replied. She shrugged. "Mama says it makes us look prettier than boys, and it's easier to go around in than pants. Plus the pants squeeze guys with some place Mama says they always think with. That's why they're dumb."
"No they don't! And I'm not stupid!" he added.
"Anyway," she said, ignoring him. "Yeah, dresses are much easier to run in."
"They are, but it's weird," he complained.
"Too bad, get used to it."
"You are NOT gonna get me in a dress 'gain."
Kouran's eyes widened and shimmered with tears.
Houjun turned away. "... An' don't cry," he added as an afterthought.
"You're so MEAN!"
Something wet hit him in the back of the head.
"DA!"
Houjun turned around to see that Kouran had grabbed a handful of mud from near the river. His eyes widened in alarm, and his right hand trailed up to the back of his head, where he felt the cool river mud trickling down his neck into his clothes.
"Koooouuurraaaan," he yelled. "I'll get you for that!"
"Yer not allowed t' hit girls!" she shrieked, stepping back away from him just in case he went after her.
"Who said I hadta hit ya?" he asked, and dove for his own mud.
Kouran dove after him. "Don't you dare! I'll tell!"
"You started it!"
"Did not!"
"DID TOO!"
They continued to argue as they grabbed handful of mud after handful of mud, throwing them at each other. Most of the handfuls missed, landing harmlessly a little ways away. Finally, they gave up on throwing and started a wrestling match...
~*~
Hikou looked up from poking at the frog at the sound of shrieking. He had been there for the past hour or so, the last fifteen minutes by himself. His best friend Houjun hadn't come along because he was stuck with his mom going to meet the mean new girl, and the others had had to head home to get breakfast. Needless to say, since he hadn't so much as gotten warts yet, he was getting bored with the critter.
Another shriek sounded, and a yell from a voice that sounded familiar.
"Who...? A fight?!" he asked excitedly. He jumped to his feet, clenching his hands and unclenching them. "I'll bet they're girls by the voices! Ooh, wait'll I catch 'em and I'll get a cake or two from stoppin' 'em!" He nodded at this. "I am a genius," he declared.
With that in mind, he stuffed the frog into the front of his shirt (just to see if long physical contact would give him warts), then ran off towards the sounds of the voices.
~*~
Finally, Houjun and Kouran stopped their little fight and sat up to brush themselves off. Both were panting, exhausted from the fight, but Houjun was grinning and Kouran was trying to keep a pout off of her face, though she was on the verge of smiling herself.
The two sat there for a while, trying to get mud out of their hair and off of their clothes.
Then,
"Hey! Stop it, you two! Heeey- oh."
Houjun froze. Oh no... He risked a peek. Yep, he was doomed.
Hikou stood a little ways away from them, looking disappointed. "Aw, you already quit. I was hopin' you'd still be at it," he complained.
Kouran sniffed. "Please. Girls don't start fights, they finish 'em quickly though," she said.
Hikou gave her a cautious glare. "Yeah right. You should leave other girls alone," he added, glancing at Houjun. "I'll bet you did start this fight- eh?" He turned to get a better look at the other boy. His eyes widened. "HOUJUN?!" he yelled.
Houjun winced.
"That's not HOUJUN, that's Kaori-chan," Kouran said matter-of-factly. "Now if you don't mind, we're playin'. Go 'way."
"Houjun, you poor guy," Hikou said. He walked to his friend and knelt in front of him, peering at the blue-haired boy. "Yer SO lucky everyone else went home, or they'd make fun of ya sure."
Houjun blushed. "I know."
"How'd she make you?"
"She started crying," Houjun said awkwardly.
Hikou nodded, immediately taking on a wise look. "Ah."
"Hello?! Kaori-chan, he's a boy, don't talk to him! You, boy, go away!" Kouran yelled. The two continued to talk. "HEY! Don't ignore meeeee..." her eyes welled up with tears.
"Girls always cry. See, they're too weak to put up with what other people want," Hikou said pointedly, glancing over his shoulder. "They're mean an' ugly and... well, mean. And they talk too much. An' they're really, really mean."
"You already said that," Houjun pointed out.
"I know, but it's true."
"I know."
"YOU'RE ALL MEAN!" Kouran declared angrily. "AN' I DON'T EVER WANNA SEE YA AGAIN!" With that, she burst into tears, turned, and ran back towards her house without a backward glance at the two stunned boys.
There was a long silence as the boys watched her go. Then Hikou said, "Well, that actually went pretty well."
"Really?" Houjun asked.
"Yeah. Fer meeting a girl, anyways. Ne, Houjun, it's really weird seeing ya in a dress..."
"I know. They're so uncomfy and cold." Houjun glanced back towards Kouran's house. "And Kouran stole my clothes."
"Oh." Hikou frowned in thought. "Hmm... well, ya could just go back an'-"
"IIE! If I do Mama'll see me! Hikou-kun, get my clothes for me! Onegai?!" Houjun interrupted.
His friend gave him a somewhat dubious look. "I dunno about that, Houjun. I might get in trouble..."
"Onegai!? I'll help you steal Geran's honey cakes later!"
Hikou's eyes widened in surprise and delight- the honey cakes were his absolute favorite, and his greatest weakness. "Ya mean it, Houjun?" His friend nodded. "Aw, you're the best! Course I'll get yer stuff! Where is it?"
"In her room," Houjun replied. At Hikou's frown he added, "I'll help steal TWO cakes for ya." He held up two fingers to emphasize his point.
His friend nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
"ARIGATO HIKOU-KUN NO DA!" Houjun cried, hugging his friend.
"Eh, Houjun, get off! It's weird, ya huggin' me, and in a dress an' all..." Hikou stood up and turned towards Kouran's house. Then with a deep breath, he started running towards it at top speed.
Houjun watched him go, sighing. "Please, Kami, let him survive," he prayed. "I wanna get my clothes back, an' Hikou's my best friend an' all... onegai?" He looked up hopefully at the sky.
There was a long quiet, then Houjun heard a distant scream and startled shouts. Then, he saw his friend racing out of the house with a bundle of clothes in his arms. His eyes were wide with terror as he hurried towards Houjun.
"HOUJUN! TASUKETE, HOUJUN!" he howled. "She's gonna get me!"
The blue-haired boy ran up to him, taking his clothes from his friend. Then he yelped as he was grabbed by his arm and dragged behind a nearby tree.
Houjun hurriedly slipped into his clothes (sighing in relief when he got into his leggings again) as the two heard another scream, and what sounded like a wail. "What happened in there, Hikou?" he asked.
He turned just in time to catch his friend's evil smile. "Eh? Oh, I got your clothes and... remember that frog I told ya about?"
His friend nodded, wondering what the frog had to do with this.
"I had the frog with me, an' I sneaked up behind that Kouran girl an' then dropped it on her hair. She screamed and whirled around, an' then it fell down into her dress."
Houjun started to laugh. "Great job! I knew I could depend on you, Hikou-kun!"
The two shared grins for a moment.
Then Hikou said, "Wanna go get those cakes now?"
"Haaaaai!"
The two ran off, forgetting the dress and the fact that Houjun's mother was probably waiting for him to come back to the house and explain what happened.
~*~
Hehe. Revenge for Houjun! I wonder what'll happen? Will they get those cakes? Will Houjun's mother find them? What about Kouran? I hope you enjoyed that, I certainly had fun typing it. ^^ Later, everyone!